Abstract
In this study, in vitro antimicrobial activity of the physodic acid, usnic acid, atranorin and gyrophoric acid isolated from the lichens Hypogymnia physodes, Parmelia caperata, Physcia aipolia and Umbilicaria polyphylla, has been investigated. An antibiotic assessment was done against six bacteria (three Gram-positive and three Gram-negative) and eight fungi by determining the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) by the broth tube dilution method. The tested lichen substances inhibited growth of all the tested microorganisms. The bacteria showed a higher sensitivity against the tested fungi. The highest antimicrobial activity was found in the usnic acid of the Parmelia caperata lichen, where the lowest MIC was 0.0037 mg/ml against the Klebsiella pneumoniae (even lower than the one given by the streptomycin standard). The weakest antimicrobial activity was found in the physodic acid, which inhibited most of the microorganisms in the concentration of 1 mg/ml. Generally, all the components had relatively strong antimicrobial activity against the tested microorganisms, among which were human and animal pathogens. This could be of significance for their use for pharmaceutical purposes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Ahmadjian V (1993) The lichen simbiosis. John Wiley and Sons
Candan M, Yilmaz M, Tay T, Kivanc M (2006) Antimicrobial activity of extracts of the lichen Xanthoparmelia pokornyi and its gyrophoric and stenosporic acid constituents. Z Naturforsch C 61:319–323
Cocchietto M, Skert N, Nimis PL, Sava G (2002) A review on usnic acid, an interesting natural compound. Naturwissenchaften 89:137–146
Gulluce M, Aslan A, Sokmen M, Sahin F, Adiguzel A, Agar G, Sokmen A (2006) Screening the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the lichens Parmelia saxatilis, Platismatia glauca, Ramalina pollinaria, Ramalina polymorpha and Umbilicaria nylanderiana. Phytomedicine 13:515–521
Hostettmann K, Wolfender JL, Rodriguez S (1987) Rapid detections and subsequent isolation of bioactive constituents of crude plant extracts. Planta Med 63:2–10
Huneck S (1999) The significance of lichens and their metabolites. Naturwissenschaften 86:559–570
Huneck S, Yoshimura I (1996) Identification of lichen substances. Springer, Berlin
Ingolfsdöttir K, Chung GAC, Gissurarson SR, Skulason VG, Vilhelmsdottir M (1998) In vitro antimycobacterial activity of lichen metabolites. Eur J Pharm Sci 6:141–144
Karaman I, Sanin F, Güllüce M, Ogütcü H, Sengul M, Adigüzel A (2003) Antimicrobial activity of aquaeos and methanol extracts of Juniperus oxicedrus. J Ethnopharmacol 37:1–5
Lauterwein M, Oethinger M, Belsner K, Peters T, Marre R (1995) In vitro activities of the lichen secondary metabolites vulpinic acid, (+)-usnic acid and (−)-usnic acid against aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 39:2541–2543
Lawrey JD (1986) Biological role of lichen substances. Bryologist 89:11–122
Müller K (2001) Pharmaceutically relevant metabolites from lichens. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 56:9–16
NCCLS (National Commitee for Clinical Laboratory Standards) (1998) Reference method for broth dilution antifungal susceptibility testing of conidium-forming filamentous fungi: proposed standard M38-P. NCCLS, Wayne, PA, USA
Ranković B, Mišić M (2007) Antifungal activity of extract of the lichens Alectoria sarmentosa and Cladonia rangiferina. Mikol Fitopatol 41:276–281
Richardson DHS (1988) Medicinal and other economic aspects of lichens. In: Galun M (eds) CRC handbook of lichenology. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, pp 93–108
Turk H, Yilmaz M, Tay T, Turk AO, Kivanc M (2006) Antimicrobial activity of extracts of chemical races of the lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea and their physodic acid, chloroatranorin, atranorin, and olivetoric acid constituents. Z Naturforsch C 61:499–507
Vartia KO (1973) Antibiotics in lichens. In: Ahmadjian V, Hale ME (eds) The lichens. Academic Press, New York, pp 547–561
Yilmaz M, Türk ÖA, Tay T, Kivanç M (2004) The antimicrobial activity of the lichen Cladonia foliacea and its (−)-usnic acid, atranorin, and fumarprotocetraric acid constituents. Z Naturforsch C 59:249–254
Acknowledgements
This work was financed partially by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Development of the Republic of Serbia and the results of studies in Project 143041B.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ranković, B., Mišić, M. & Sukdolak, S. The antimicrobial activity of substances derived from the lichens Physcia aipolia, Umbilicaria polyphylla, Parmelia caperata and Hypogymnia physodes . World J Microbiol Biotechnol 24, 1239–1242 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-007-9580-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-007-9580-7